Thread supply apparatus for textile machinery, particularly circular knitting machines

ABSTRACT

To permit ready selective use of thread supply apparatus in textile machines, particularly circular knitting machines, a plurality of support arms, all similar, are clamped to a rail on the machine (which may be a ring for a circular knitting machine). The arms carry projecting rods which extend at right angles to the planes in which drive belts are continuously driven from the machine, to permit selective vertical adjustment of thread supply apparatus to be engaged by selected ones of the drive belts. In one form of the invention, the arms carry two vertical rods, one for idler pulleys around which the drive belts can be looped and the other for the thread supply apparatus itself, so that dismounting and re-mounting of the thread supply apparatus can be eliminated by mere selective engagement of the belts with the thread supply apparatus, or the idler pulleys, respectively, the thread supply apparatus itself being mounted for both vertical as well as radial adjustment on their mounting rods.

United States Patent 19] Hebbecker et al.

[451 Jan. 15,1974

1 1 THREAD SUPPLY APPARATUS FOR TEXTILE MACHINERY, PARTICULARLY CIRCULARKNITTING MACHINES [75] Inventors: Roll Hebbecker, Bodelshausen;

Robert Hofmann, Rottenburg, both of Germany [73] Assignee: Fouguet-WerkFrauz & Planck,

Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany [22] Filed: June 13, 1972 [21] Appl. N0.:262,409

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 21, 1971 Germany P 21 30697.8

[52] U.S. Cl. .1 66/132 T, 242/4701 [51] Int. Cl D041) 15/48 [58] Fieldof Search 66/125 R, 132 R, 1 66/132 T; 242/4701, 47.12

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,967,413 l/196l Jackson etal. 66/132 R 3,243,091 3/1966 Rosen 66/132 T X 3,418,831 12/1968 Nance66/132 T 3,490,710 1/1970 Muhlhausler 242/4701 3,625,444 12/1971 Hatay242/4701 Tannert 242/47.12 X Muhlhausler 242/4701 X [57] ABSTRACT Topermit ready selective use of thread supply apparatus in textilemachines, particularly circular knitting machines, a plurality ofsupport arms, all similar, are clamped to a rail on the machine (whichmay be a ring for a circular knitting machine). The arms carryprojecting rods which extend at right angles to the planes in whichdrive belts are continuously driven from the machine, to permitselective vertical adjustment of thread supply apparatus to be engagedby selected ones of the drive belts. In one form of the invention, thearms carry two vertical rods, one for idler pulleys around which thedrive belts can be looped and the other for the thread supply apparatusitself, so that dismounting and re-mounting of the thread supplyapparatus can be eliminated by mere selective engagement of the beltswith the thread supply apparatus, or the idler pulleys, respectively,the thread supply apparatus itself being mounted for both vertical aswell as radial adjustment on their mounting rods.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures IMENTED JAN 15 im SHEEI 3 OF THREAD SUPPLYAPPARATUS FOR TEXTILE MACHINERY, PARTICULARLY CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINESThe present invention relates to thread supply apparatus and moreparticularly to thread storing devices, also known as furnishing wheels,or drums, or fournisseurs for circular knitting machines.

Various types of thread supply apparatus have been proposed see, forexample US. Pat. No. 3,490,710.

These thread supply devices are located on the knitting machine betweenthe yarn package and the knitting feeds, that is, where the yarn isapplied to the knit ting needles. In one form, the fournisseurs arelocated in various horizontal planes on concentric rings secured to themachine structure, and various drive belts of differential drive speedrun in the various planes, drive belts of respective speeds beingapplied to fournisseurs in dependence on the desired quantity of threadto be supplied. In one form which is customary, the belts running aroundthe machine are endless belts which are partially looped about therespective selected fournisseurs, the belts being driven from a commondrive and each belt providing a drive to the re spective fournisseurs ata common drive speed, so that each fournisseur is driven with the samespeed from the same source.

If the pattern to be knitted, or the stitch structure of the fabric ischanged, different supply speeds may be required. To permit differentsupply speeds, belts are located in various planes and it has, in thepast, been necessary to dismount the fournisseurs from one plane andfrom the engagement with a given belt and re mount and secure thefournisseurs in a different plane, with a new attachment, if change ofdrive speed from one belt to another was desired. This dismounting andre-mounting of the fournisseurs or their carriers is time consuming andrequires, after re-mounting, accurate positioning of the fournisseurswith respect to the drive belt. After re-mounting of selectedfournisseurs, the respective drive belt may have more fournisseurs indriving engagement therewith than previously, which changes thecircumferential aspects of the belt, and changes its length along thecircumference of the machine, unless the length of the belt itself as itruns around the machine can be readily adjusted, that is, compensatedfor the presence of additional fournisseurs. If, on the other hand, somefournisseurs are removed, the belt again requires re-adjustment in itslength.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a textile machinethread supply structure, and more par ticularly a structure for circularknitting machines which permits easy change of position of fournisseurswith respect to a group of drive belts, located in various staggeredplanes, and to permit easy adjustment of the length of the belt, whilehaving minimum interference with the remaining fournisseurs and theirprevious location.

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Briefly, common carrier arms areprovided which are mounted on a machine rail in the case of circularknitting machines on a support ring preferably by means of aquick-release clamp. The arms are formed with a projecting rod on whichthe fournisseurs are mounted, individually adjustable for height as wellas for projection from the plane in which the belts travel, so thattheir radial projection (in case of circular knitting machines) can beeasily adjusted for effective driving engagement with the belt. Thebelt, itself, in accordance with a feature of the invention, is adjustedfor length by running the belt around a group of idler pulleys mountedon an arm similar to the arms carrying the rods on which thefournisseurs are located, so that a minimum of different structures, andthus parts are necessary.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, the arms are providedwith two projecting rods, radially staggered from each other, the outerrod carrying idler pulleys and the inner rod carrying "the support armsfor the fournisseur, so that, if a fournisseur is to be disengaged, thebelt can be looped about the idler pulley to be kept out of the way andrequiring a minimum of readjustment of belt length.

The invention will be described by way of example with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a highly schematic side view of a carrier arm, with projectingrods and a fournisseur mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a drive arrangement for fournisseurs for acircular machine; 5

FIG. 3 is a front view taken in the direction of arrow A of FIG. 2; and

FIGS. la, 2a and 3a are views similar to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, respectively, ofan alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Referring first to FIGS. 1-3, which illustrate the invention applied toa circular knitting machine: A rail in the form of a ring 2 is securedto the frame of the machine. Carrier arms 1 are clamped to the rail 2 bymeans of a depending claw and a holding or tightening screw 4 (FIG. I).The carrier arm 1, best seen in the top view of FIG. 2, is angled. Avertically upstanding rod 5 is located at the tip of the angle, and asecond and preferably similar rod 6 is located intermediate the lengthof the arm 1, for example near the apex of the angle. Arm 1 mayhaveother shapes, forexample may be straight, bowed or the like. Idle-rcompensating pulleys 7 are located, in height-adjustable position to berotatable about rod 5, for example by ball bearings whose heightposition on the rod 5 can be determined by a small set screw (notshown). Three drive belts 8, 9, 10 run in a plane parallel to the planeof the ring 2, but staggered vertically (see FIGS. 1 and 3). The rod 6serves to secure fournisseurs ll thereto by means of a projecting arm 13clamped by clamp screws 16 to a radial clamp 14 which can, in turn, beclamped to the vertical rod 6. Thus, loosening and re-positioning clamp14 vertically permits placement of fournisseur 11, with its drive pulley12, in engagement with any one of the belts 8, 9 and 10; as shown inFIG. 1, the fournis' seur 11 is engaged by belt 10. As seen in FIG. 3,the second fournisseur (from the left) is engaged by belt 9 and thethird fournisseur is engaged by belt 8. The radial position, that is theprojection of the respective fournisseurs l1, and their drive pulleys 12with respect to the center of the machine (or, in other words, withrespect to the path of the belts 8, 9, 10) is adjustable by adjustingthe length of arm 13 upon re-positioning clamp 16. The fournisseurs 11thus can be located with respect to the belts in any desired vertical,as well as radially projecting position.

The examples illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 provide for three different beltdrives, located in three respective vertical planes. Each fournisseur isprovided with an electrical contact which is led over a flexible cable17 to a thread control or thread break sensing device; forinterconnection, a quick-release plug-socket connection with anelectrical bus system 17' is provided, bus system 17 being located alongrail 2.

The belt itself is driven from a central drive, not shown; to adjust forthe length of the belt coursing about the fournisseurs, idler pulleys20, 20 and 22 are located in vertically staggered position on an arm 1(FIG. 2) which, in all respects, may be similar to arms 1 on which thefournisseurs and pulleys 7 are located. The idler pulleys 20, 20 arepreferably located on a transverse arm which may be tensioned, in theform of a tension balance 21, as well known, the arm itself beingcarried on an extension bar 23 which can be clamped in height-adjustableand radial adjustable position by locating brackets 24, 25 on rods 5', 6similar to rods 5, 6, on arms 1. The clamp connections between thebrackets 24, 25 have been omitted from the drawings for clarity and maybe similar to clamps l5 and 16. Thus, arm 23 with its tension-balancepulleys 20, 20' and the terminal idler pulley 22 can be located inheight-adjusted position, and the extent of projection of the arm 23,and with it the extent of the loop formed by the belt as it is loopedfrom the main drive around the idler pulley 22 and back over the tensionbalance wheel 20' is likewise subject to radial adjustment.

Similar pulley arrangements are located, vertically staggered, for allthe belts, the extent of radial projection of the arm 23 being matchedto the number of fournisseurs driven by the respective belts. As can beseen from FIG. 2, the adjustmentof the length of the belt in dependenceon whether the belt drives a fournisseur or not is rather small, sincethe radial position of the idler pulleys 7 and the fournisseur pulley 10can be adjusted to be fairly similar, requiring only small adjustmentsof the bracket 23, to the extent that they cannot be compensated by thetension balance 21.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1a, 2a, 3a, likewise applied to a circularknitting machine, illustrates a form of the invention in which only asingle support rod 6 is secured to shorter arms la which are, again,clamped to a ring 2. Fournisseurs 11 are located on rod 6, to beheight-adjustable and radially adjustable, as in the embodimentdescribed in connection with FIGS. 1-3. The idler pulleys 7, however,are omitted. This may result in a belt position pattern which causessome belts to pass on the inside, that is beneath other fournisseurs 11,as illustrated in connection with belt 8 (FIGS. 1a, 2a). Thelength-adjustment for the belts may thus be more extensive. An arm la,which is straight, is clamped to rail 2. It carries a pair of upstandingrods 38, 39, to which brackets 34, 35 are clamped by screw clamps (notshown). The brackets 34, 35 in turn carry a horizontally projecting rod33 to which idler pulleys 30, 30' and 32 are rotatably connected, idlerpulleys 30, 30' being located on a tension balance 31. The placement ofthe tension balance 31 and of the idler pulley 32 longitudinally on rod33 may be, for example, by a short stub shaft clamped in position on therod 33 by a quick-release clamp, not shown for simplicity and well knownin the art.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1a-3a, the arm 13carrying the fournisseur 11 is preferably hollow so that the cable 17can be carried through the arm 13, and then connected, so that it willbe protected from possible contact with the freely running belts whichmay be adjacent the rods 6.

Various changes and modifications may be made within the inventiveconcept.

We claim:

1. Thread supply apparatus for textile machines comprising a pluralityof thread supply units (11, 12);

a group of dirven belts (8, 9, 10) located in staggered, offset planes,and essentially parallel to each other;

a support arm (1, 1a) located to support each thread supply unit;

a common support rail (2) secured to the frame of the machine;

means (3, 4) securing said support arms (1, 1a) to the common supportrail (2);

a projecting rod (6) extending from each of the support arms;

and adjustable clamping means (13, 14; 15, 16) interconnecting thethread supply unit (l1, l2) and the projecting rod (6), said clampingmeans being adjustable on the rod in a direction of the stagger of thebelts for engagement of a selected thread supply unit with a selectedbelt and said thread supply unit being further adjustable in projectingposition with respect to the clamping means and the rail (2) of themachine to provide for lengthcompensation of the belt, and engagementposition of a selected thread supply unit with the respective belt.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with a circularknitting machine, wherein the common support rail is a ring (2)enclosing the machine;

and the means securing each of the support arms to the rail comprises aquick-release clamping means (3, 4) clamping the support arm to thering, the projecting position of the thread supply units beingadjustable radially with respect to the machine.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the 'quick-release clampingmeans comprises a claw (3) formed on each arm adapted to hook over thering (2); and a clamp screw bearing against the ring to clamp the clawto the ring.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a further support arm (1)carrying radially adjustably mounted idler pulleys (20, 20, 22; 30, 30',32) having said driven belts (8, 9, 10) passing thereover to provide forlength-compensation of the driven belts, said further support arm (1'),and said support arms for the thread supply units being similar.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with a circularknitting machine wherein each support arm extends substantiallyhorizontally and two rods (5, 6) are provided projecting in a verticaldirection from each support arm (1), one of said rods (5) being locatedadjacent the free end of the support arm, and idler pulleys (7)rotatably mounted in longitudinal staggered relation on said one supportrod;

the other rod (6) being located intermediate the length of the supportarm and carrying said thread supply unit (11, 12).

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the belts (8, 9, 10) run inessentially staggered horizontal planes and surround the idler pulleys(7) at selected feeds of 7. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein theidler pulleys (7) are mounted on said one rod (5) for verticaladjustment and said thread supply units (l1, 12) are mounted on theother rod (6) for both vertical as well as horizontal adjustment;

and said belts (8, 9, 10) run in staggered, essentially horizontalplanes.

1. Thread supply apparatus for textile machines comprising a pluralityof thread supply units (11, 12); a group of driven belts (8, 9, 10)located in staggered, offset planes, and essentially parallel to eachother; a support arm (1, 1a) located to support each thread supply unit;a common support rail (2) secured to the frame of the machine; means (3,4) securing said support arms (1, 1a) to the common support rail (2); aprojecting rod (6) extending from each of the support arms; andadjustable clamping means (13, 14; 15, 16) interconnecting the threadsupply unit (11, 12) and the projecting rod (6), said clamping meansbeing adjustable on the rod in a direction of the stagger of the beltsfor engagement of a selected thread supply unit with a selected belt andsaid thread supply unit being further adjustable in projecting positionwith respect to the clamping means and the rail (2) of the machine toprovide for length-compensation of the belt, and engagement position ofa selected thread supply unit with the respective belt.
 2. Apparatusaccording to claim 1, in combination with a circular knitting machine,wherein the common support rail is a ring (2) enclosing the machine; andthe means securing each of the support arms to the rail comprises aquick-release clamping means (3, 4) clamping the support arm to thering, the projecting position of the thread supply units beingadjustable radially with respect to the machine.
 3. Apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein the quick-release clamping means comprises a claw(3) formed on each arm adapted to hook over the ring (2); and a clampscrew bearing against the ring to clamp the claw to the ring. 4.Apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a further support arm (1'')carrying radially adjustably mounted idler pulleys (20, 20'', 22; 30,30'', 32) having said driven belts (8, 9, 10) passing thereover toprovide for length-compensation of the driven belts, said furthersupport arm (1''), and said support arms for the thread supply unitsbeing similar.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with acircular knitting machine wherein each support arm extends substantiallyhorizontally and two rods (5, 6) are provided projecting in a verticaldirection from each support arm (1), one of said rods (5) being locatedadjacent the free end of the support arm, and idler pulleys (7)rotatably mounted in longitudinal staggered relation on said one supportrod; the other rod (6) being located intermediate the length of thesupport arm and carrying said thread supply unit (11, 12).
 6. Apparatusaccording to claim 5, wherein the belts (8, 9, 10) run in essentiallystaggered horizontal planes and surround the idler pulleys (7) atselected feeds of the machine and engage the thread supply units atother selected feeds; said thread supply units being located invertically adjustable position to be engaged by the belts at feeds wherethread is desired to be supplied and being located out of contact withthe respective belt where no thread is desired to be delivered, thebelts at said no-thread delivery feeds being looped about the respectiveidler pulleys (7).
 7. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the idlerpulleys (7) are mounted on said one rod (5) for vertical adjustment andsaid thread supply units (11, 12) are mounted on the other rod (6) forboth vertical as well as horizontal adjustment; and said belts (8, 9,10) run in staggered, essentially horizontal planes.